Michèle Sabban is a former regional councillor of Ile-de-France (December 2015) and Vice-President of the Ile-de-France Regional Council in charge of personnel, general administration and public procurement. Through her successive mandates, she has worked to strengthen cooperation between Ile-de-France and its European partners.

However, Michèle Sabban's commitment to Europe is most strongly expressed through her work at the head of the Assembly of European Regions, of which she became the first elected President in November 2008 (re-elected in November 2010 until May 2013). The Assembly of European Regions is the largest independent network of regions in the wider Europe. With more than 250 regions from 35 countries and 16 interregional organisations, AER is the political voice of its members and a forum for interregional cooperation.

A founding member of the R20, Regions of Climate Actions, created in 2010, she works alongside former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to bring together the world's regions, provinces and federal states in the fight against climate change and the implementation of sustainable development. From March 2012 to June 2017, she served as its President. Today she is the President of the R20 Green Fund for Women.

Until December 2015, she also chaired the Global Fund for Cities Development (GFCD), an international political organisation for strengthening solidarity and financial capacities, by and between local authorities, which complements existing mobilisation, articulation and advocacy networks.

Born in Kef in 1954, Michèle Sabban is a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a member of the national authorities of the French Socialist Party.

Interview with Cyrielle Hariel - #Changemakers

"I was able to observe the strong involvement of women, particularly African women, in activities related to agriculture, health and energy, and the observation is clear: women are the first victims of climate disorders but also the first actors in the fight against climate change."
- Michèle Sabban

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